The bee has two types of eyes: three small ones on the top of the head (called ocelli) and two large ones on the sides (called compound eyes). The surface of the lateral eyes is made up of small hexagons, called ommatidia, each of which is an eye in itself, giving the bee a complex mosaic of vision.
Bees perceive a narrow range of colors (yellow, blue-green and light blue) but they see ultraviolet. The petals of many flowers have surfaces that reflect ultraviolet light, forming patterns that are invisible to our eyes but very useful for attracting bees.